Living the Dream

1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)Read it yourself

In his mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope.

The essence of my faith is that Jesus came to give life, and life to the full. To the full! Is life full when I live to please people? No, people pleasing is not a path to full living. People do not have the capacity to provide the affirmation and acceptance that my soul longs for. People always disappoint, even the best of them fail and falter.

At least I know I do, and everyone I’ve ever met has too. Yet I am built with a longing to connect and be seen by others, to be known and to know. I find myself born into a rich and wonderful place. Out of none of my own efforts I find myself existing between emptiness and eternity, between the past and the future, I exist for but a short time. I find others in this wonderful place called the present. We live move and have our being here. Life is an overwhelming flood of grace and providence. Yet how often do I squander it on meaningless pursuits? On things that don’t matter to me, on things that don’t fill me with joy and hope and faith?

Living Hope

Hope is not an emotion, it's a way of thinking. God has changed how I think. Cynicism, resentment, negative and critical thoughts. The need to compare myself with others in an attempt to find validation and affirmation. These were part and parcel of the nature I was born with. In my pursuit of self I found that there were others in the same pursuit. Like a pack of wild dogs, these people will verbally tear your self-worth to shreds in an attempt to validate their own existence. Many of them seem nice and friendly, they might even go to church and practice religion. Yet their core is rotten, and like vampires and zombies they will suck the life out of you and eat your brains. I will not allow these people to define who I am.

I choose to associate with fellow pilgrims on this wonderful journey called life. People that encourage and build up rather than tear down. That empathize with my failures and struggles. Fellow travelers with broken and messed up lives, living in hope of an inheritance that cannot be destroyed, rot, or fade. An inheritance saved up for us through a promise guaranteed by Jesus sacrifice. I consider the fact that eternity being what it is, I am technically quite young, even though fifty plus years might seem like a long time.